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User blog:Dycaite/Lost Media History, Lesson 1: Cry Baby Lane
NOTE:' This article was written off the top of my head, from my own personal experience. '''''Cry Baby Lane was long thought to be nothing more than a myth, after a creepypasta was posted online on the subject of the film. The supposed low-budget horror was screened only once on Nickelodeon, on Halloween night of 2000. Said to be so terrifying that a barrage of parents' complaints lead to the film being banned. People tried contacting Nickelodeon regarding the film, who flat out denied its existence, leading people to believe the whole thing was fabricated. While the creepypasta seemed to have hyped up several of the film's elements, there started to emerge actual footage of the film, in the form of a trailer, and several screenshots that people with copies of the tape for sale had provided, (though these tapes were deemed too expensive, and the movie once again faded into the background). However, miraculously, in mid-August of 2011, a Reddit user under the name firesaladpeach, (in a TIL thread about the film), claimed to have a recorded copy of the entire film, and even provided a 2 minute bootleg intro. The shit seriously hit the fan at this point, as we now knew that she legitimate did indeed have a copy, and people all over the thread began pandering for her to convert the VHS to a digital format and release it online. A day or two passed, with no new correspondence from firesaladpeach, and users had discovered that she had even deleted her Reddit account. Hopes were low, and many people suspected the worst. But then, from another, similarly named account, appeared a comment in the thread, reading something to the effect of "you guys have no faith", followed by a download link. In the mad rush that followed, I found myself purchasing a premium account for whatever vague filehost it was shared on, just to get my hands on the video. Once I did, and saw that it was the real deal, I shat my pants (figuratively speaking). Immediately, I set up a livestream of the film, and posted it in /x/. By the time the stream had begun, we had 100 viewers (maxed out), one of whom was re-streaming my stream to another handful of viewers. It was the single most intense online experience of my life. I streamed the film, in somewhat low quality (at that point in time, not having much knowledge about streaming), but the occasion was still incredibly momentous, much of /x/ having waited to see this film for so long now. The film finished, many memes having been generated during the viewing (nig-kid, kiss or chi-chi) and Cry Baby Lane finally became known as a once-lost now-found film. As expected, there were many differences between the creepypasta and the actual movie, though some of it was indeed accurate, such as (a modified version of) the siamese twins idea. Nickelodeon, having previously denied the existence of the film, now jumped on the bandwagon, re-airing the film on Halloween night, 2011, on TeenNick's The 90s Are All That, promoting it as a "banned film" (although Peter Lauer later responded to this claim by saying he thought the film was simply a flop, resulting in it not being re-aired, and was never made aware of it ever being banned per se). In any case, the mystery of Cry Baby Lane was finally solved, and people worldwide beamed with joy. It seems like only yesterday, and is a moment of internet history that I will never forget. Thanks for taking a short trip back in time with me for our first lesson in Lost Media History. Sorry if any of this information is incorrect; this is how I remember everything taking place, but the mind can sometimes play funny tricks. Finally, for those who have not yet seen the film, here it is for your viewing pleasure: The Original Creepypasta Category:Blog posts